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Stained Glass Window

Type Object Region Europe Time c. 1000–1500

Stained glass windows are leaded colored-glass lighting and narrative decorations in medieval European churches, flourishing from 1000 to 1500 CE.

Timeline

  1. c. 1000–1150Central France · FranceRomanesque churches began inlaying colored glass in arched windows, mainly geometric patterns and sacred images; technique was still simple, but the basic function of stained glass as decoration of sacred church space was established.
  2. c. 1150–1270Chartres · Centre-Val de LoireGothic architecture enlarged window surfaces; Chartres, Reims, Notre-Dame de Paris and other cathedrals built huge narrative stained glass windows, telling biblical stories through leaded divisions and painted glass; technique and scale reached their peak in the mid-13th century.
  3. c. 1350–1500Europe · EuropeAfter the Black Death, patronage models for stained glass changed; more realistic figure depictions and grisaille painting techniques appeared in the late Gothic and Renaissance periods, and stained glass gradually gave way to new media such as murals and prints.

Sources